The Bridges to the Doctorate proposal seeks to increase the number of doctoral level scientists from under-represented students in the United States. It addresses the problem of the shortage of under-represented scientists in disciplines related to the biomedical sciences. These include bioengineering, mathematics, the general biomedical sciences, and the pharmaceutical, mathematical, and agricultural sciences related to biomedicine. To achieve this aim, and the long term goal of becoming a regional center for the training of under-represented students, the University of Georgia will partner with North Carolina A&T, an HBCU. Six students each year for three years will be recruited and trained at North Carolina A&T in their MS graduate programs in biochemistry, chemistry, physics, chemical engineering, and mathematics. It is planned that a total of eighteen students will enter the program at North Carolina A&T and then matriculate to the University of Georgia. Upon graduation from North Carolina A&T, the students will enter a graduate program at the University of Georgia in some discipline dealing with the biomedical sciences. The program is innovative since it broadens the scope of what is normally offered in the biomedical sciences to include bioengineering, bioinformatics, biophysics, pharmaceutical science, chemistry, as well as the general biomedical sciences including genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmacogenomics, cellular biology, microbiology, and botany. Physical science students are specifically being targeted, since they usually have fewer opportunities to enter the biomedical sciences. However, biology majors with a keen desire to pursue research and a doctoral degree will be welcomed. The partnership will provide North Carolina A&T students with the chance to pursue a more diverse doctoral degree. It will provide the University of Georgia a steady supply of committed, well-trained MS students for its doctoral programs. The program will help alleviate the shortage of under-represented students in the general biomedical sciences. This is particularly important since most students will be recruited from the impoverished "Black Belt" contained mostly in the Southeastern United States.